The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Leonard Christian’s subscribers Feb. 13, 2026. To subscribe to Sen. Christian’s e-newsletters, click here.

Does Washington state have a pile of money somewhere? In this speech from the Senate floor, I urge a no-vote on a bill that could make Washington the supplier of free abortion pills to the nation. See item below. Senate Bill 5917 passed the Senate 32-17 and now is under consideration in the House. To see speech, click here or on video above.

 

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

If there’s one thing I seem to be known for in the Legislature, it’s my signature closing line during Senate floor speeches, whenever a bill is especially awful:

“Bad bill, vote no.”

I sure seem to be saying that a lot lately. We are at the point of our session where we are at our desks in the House and Senate all day long, and bills are coming at us in a torrent. The other team holds the majority in both chambers, and some of their bills are real stinkers.

We have until Tuesday to pass all the bills that will advance from the Senate this year, at least the ones not connected to the budget. The worst bills of the year are still to come, the income tax in particular. But let me tell you about a few that have sailed off the Senate floor so far.

 

Bill would let Olympia fire elected county sheriffs

Senate passes measure allowing an unelected board to override the voters

Fresh from Thursday’s two-hour debate on Senate Bill 5974, the anti-sheriff bill, I stepped off the Senate floor to record the video you see here. This bill, giving Olympia the right to override the voters, passed the Senate on a party-line vote of 30-19. The people certainly have a different view of this matter. When this bill got a hearing before the Senate Law and Justice Committee Jan. 22, 14,700 people signed on to the Legislature’s website to register their opinions. It should be no surprise that the vast majority were opposed. Some 12,873 signed in “con,” for an opposition rate of 87.6 percent.  To see remarks, click here or on the video to the left. 

 

Five years ago, when defund-the-police agitation was at its peak, our majority Democratic colleagues gave the Criminal Justice Training Commission the power to discipline and fire front-line police officers and deputies. Now they are coming for police chiefs, town marshals and elected county sheriffs.

Senate Bill 5974 establishes a long list of qualifications for these law enforcement executives, and gives this unelected commission the authority to remove the ones it doesn’t like. Where appointed police chiefs and marshals are concerned, Olympia’s one-size-fits-all approach is disturbing enough. But what this bill does to elected county sheriffs is setting off alarms.

Thirty-eight of Washington’s 39 counties elect their sheriffs, a position established under the state constitution. Until now, the voters have always had the final say. It takes a recall vote to remove a sheriff from office, and that’s not easy, nor should it be. But this bill would give the governor and his appointees the power to override the voters and cast out sheriffs who don’t toe Olympia’s line.

The problem is that some sheriffs are thinking for themselves. For example, the state is suing the Adams County sheriff’s office for daring to cooperate with federal immigration agents, a violation of state law but a legitimate legal dispute, given the fact that federal authority supersedes the state. In that case, the sheriff is representing the Adams County residents who voted him into office, not the legislative Democrats who want to micromanage police agencies. Some sheriffs have other ways of displaying defiance. Still others do not meet the qualifications this bill would impose. If this bill passes, we quickly would see several elected sheriffs on the unemployment line.

I am proud to say every Republican spoke against this bill when it came to the floor Thursday. But we couldn’t hold it up forever. Now it has gone to the House. I wonder if my colleagues recognize how chilling this is. One of the first acts of an authoritarian government is to remove elected officials with whom it disagrees. Who’s next? Us?

 

 

Bill expands AG’s ability to go after business, law enforcement agencies  

Speaking of giving Olympia more authority over the people, Senate Bill 5925 would give the state Attorney General’s Office greater power to go after businesses and law enforcement agencies. This bill would greatly expand the attorney general’s authority to investigate potential violations of civil law. The AG’s office refers to these investigations as “Civil Investigation Demands,” but a better term would be “fishing expeditions.”

With this authority, the AG is able to demand documents and compel individuals to answer questions, even when it has no evidence that a civil violation has occurred and no charges have been filed. The idea is that the AG might turn up evidence that could lead to charges. That’s what we call a fishing expedition.

The AG’s office already has this power in certain limited cases, such as investigations of consumer fraud and Medicaid fraud. But this bill expands it into areas where the agency’s power might easily be abused, including violations of constitutional law, wage-and-hour laws, anti-discrimination laws, and that law I mentioned above prohibiting police cooperation with federal immigration officials.

This bill basically gives the Attorney General’s Office carte blanche to go after businesses and agencies it doesn’t like. Given its notorious tendency these last several years to use its power for political purposes, none of us should feel safe. For business owners, it’s another nail in the coffin. With an income tax and fishing expeditions on the horizon, it’s hard to imagine why anyone would open a business in Washington state. This bill passed the Senate on another party-line vote, 30-19, and has gone to the House.

 

Bill puts state in business of distributing free abortion pills

Our majority colleagues are saying state spending has reached the limit, and if we want to do anything more, we need to pass an income tax. But if we’re in financial trouble, then why are we launching a new program to distribute free abortion pills to clinics across the state and possibly across state borders?

That’s what Senate Bill 5917 does. It would allow Washington to redistribute an enormous stockpile of abortion pills it started building in 2023. The initial purchases were prompted by fear the availability of abortion pills would somehow be restricted by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to return responsibility for abortion laws to the states. That first batch has already expired, but Washington kept right on purchasing them, and other pills remain potent through 2029. Supporters say they want to make sure the pills go to good use.

It’s no secret I oppose abortion. I don’t think there is a good use. But the way this bill is written ought to take anyone aback. It doesn’t envision a one-time distribution. It would launch an ongoing program. As long as Washington keeps buying pills, it would be able to redistribute them free of charge, perhaps even to other states with more restrictive laws than ours. There are no limits. We have spent $2 million so far for these pills. How much more will we spend? I don’t know about you, but this does not strike me as a good excuse for a tax increase.

 

A time out for the Seahawks

We may have been working overtime to pass the torrent of legislation before us in the Senate this year, but don’t let it be said we lack focus on the important things in life. During our Tuesday floor session, we took a moment to stand with former Seahawks wide receiver Steve Raible and honor the Seahawks for their second Super Bowl win.

Income tax on fast track to Senate floor

With more than 60,000 people signing in opposed, SB 6346 is the most unpopular bill on record

And what about that income tax? Senate Bill 6346 is on the way to a vote in the full Senate, after setting a new record for public opposition.

Thanks to the thousands of people who signed on to the Legislature’s website, our colleagues are well aware Washington doesn’t want an income tax. When this bill was heard in the Senate Ways and Means Committee last week, 80,600 people registered their opinions on the Legislature’s website. Of those, 61,240 were opposed. That’s an opposition rate of 76 percent.

This allows us to call the income tax bill the most unpopular in state history, or at least in the five years or so that the Legislature has been allowing electronic sign-ins. The previous record-holder for public opposition was last year’s bill allowing dramatic increases in local property taxes, Senate Bill 5798, which received 45,170 sign-ins. Of those, 42,865 were opposed.

Our Democratic colleagues are pushing forward anyway. They passed the bill in committee on Monday. On Thursday night, they used their votes in the Senate Rules Committee to advance the bill to the Senate floor. The Senate vote may come as soon as Monday.

 

 

Thanks for reading,

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leonard Christian

4th Legislative District

 

Contact me!

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Mailing address: Post Office Box 40404, Olympia, WA  98504

Email: Leonard.Christian@leg.wa.gov

Phone: (360) 786-7606

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